Current Affairs - April 7, 2019 Current Affairs

The United Nations' (UN) International day of Sport for Development and Peace(IDSDP) is observed annually on April 6 to recognize the power of sport in promoting peace and erasing cultural barriers worldwide.It is celebrated to promote healthy lifestyles and emphasizes the international Olympic Committee focus on giving as possible access to sport.The day is an annual celebration of the power of sport to drive social change, community development and to foster peace and understanding.April 6 was declared as the IDSDP by United Nations in 2013 and has been celebrated each year ever since 2014.

The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) is to organize a NuGen Mobility Summit, 2019, at Manesar, NCR, from 27th to 29th November 2019. The summit will help in building a platform for bringing together all stakeholders in the automotive industry to understand global advancements in technologies. The summit aims to bring together the automotive OEMs, professionals, researchers, academic experts, vehicle system suppliers, test equipment supplier, quality managers, product planners, component developers, SAE members and students from all over the world. Track demonstrations, drive-touch-feel activity and lab demonstrations on upcoming vehicle technologies like connected mobility, autonomous vehicles, electric mobility, alternate fuels, intelligent transportation system, hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen IC engine, vehicle dynamics, advanced materials and lightweight, end of life vehicles and recycling are the uniqueness of this event.

The first global multi-stakeholder conference on synergies is summoned by (UN DESA) the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the (UN FCCC) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate.Before the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) provides a detailed analysis and review of SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) 13 on climate change in 2019, the conference will serve as an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on SDG 13 (climate action). The objective of the Climate and SDGs Synergy Conference is to encourage action around the Sustainable Development Goals and provide strategies for boosting up the connection between the SDGs and climate action. It also focuses on maximising co-benefits by encouraging action from global, regional and country-level stakeholders.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro's (L&T's) proposal to acquire up to 66.15% stake in Mindtree. With this nod, L&T has overcome the first major regulatory hurdle in its bid for 'hostile' takeover of the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services firm.

To counter growing Chinese footprint in Indian ocean region, the Indian Navy has initiated the process to acquire six lethal submarines under the ambitious Project-75 India (I). The project would cost Rs 50,000 crore. Under Project 75-India, the Navy wants to build six conventional diesel-electric submarines which would be almost 50% bigger than the under-construction Scorpene class submarines being built at the Mazagon Dockyards Limited in Mumbai. As per the requirements stated by the maritime force, it wants the submarines to be equipped with heavy-duty firepower as it wants the boats to have at least 12 Land Attack Cruise Missiles (LACM) along with Anti-Ship cruise missiles (ASCM).

Shri Anwar Haleem, IFS (Indian Foreign Service, batch of 1991 is appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He will take up the assignment at a short notice.He is currently working as the Senior Directing Staff in the National Defence College.

Army's Western Command chief inaugurated Rinzin Dwar, the entrance to Pirthi Military station, named after a slain Army officer, in Shimla district. It is situated at Averipatti in Rampur and is named after late Sub Rinzin Dorje of Dogra Scouts. He was an accomplished mountaineer who summited Mt Everest and several other prominent peaks.

Viharidas Gopaldas Patel, noted economist and 'Father of Entrepreneurship Movement' in India, passed away on 4 April after a brief illness. In 2017, the Government of India had decorated him with a Padma Shri for his contribution to the entrepreneurship movement. He had set up the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) in Ahmedabad in 1983.

The Sri Lankan army has decided to conduct its largest ever military exercise titled 'Exercise Western Shield' in July 2019 to provide an opportunity for army trainees to march through areas that are not usually accessible to others, except forest conservation authorities. It will see participation of over 5,000 soldiers and will extend from Mannar to Puttalam, including Kalpitiya, Wilpattu National Park, Mavillu and Thabbowa Forest Reserves and the Western coastal belt. The exercise is coincided with 10 years since the end of the island's 30-year civil conflict between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

Justice Pradeep Nandrajog was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Bomaby high Court. His oath was administered by Maharashtra Governor CH Vidyasagarrao at Raj Bhavan,Mumbai. He succeeds Justice Naresh Patel. Justice Nandrajog, 61, was enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1981.

Rahul Sharma, cofounder of Indian phone maker Micromax, has forayed into the electric vehicle space. He has started a new enterprise called Revolt Intellicorp Pvt. Ltd, with plans to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) based motorcycle. He has invested between INR 400 Cr - INR 500 Cr in this new venture. The proposed AI-enabled motorcycle will have a range of 156.8 km and a top speed of 85km/hr. The commercial launch of the motorcycle is scheduled in June this year.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and WHO formed a Solidarity Human Chain on 4 April 2019. This was done as part of the World Health Day celebrations to reaffirm their commitment to working collaboratively towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

A 12-member Indian Army patrol along with a police representative recovered wreckage of a World War II US Air Force aircraft in Roing district of Arunachal Pradesh recently. The patrol located the aircraft debris covered by thick undergrowth and buried under five feet of snow. Its discovery and other warlike stores will definitely lead to revelation of some historical inputs.

Praful Patel, president of All India Football Federation (AIFF), has become the first Indian to be elected as a member of FIFA Executive Council. Patel got 38 votes out of the total 46 votes, which only shows how highly he is regarded by the fellow Asian nations. Patel, who serves as a Senior Vice President at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), was one of the eight candidates vying for the spot in the election, which was held during the 29th AFC Congress in Kuala Lampur in Malaysia.

The Indian men's football team gained two places to rise to 101 in the FIFA rankings released on 4 April 2019. With 1219 total ranking points, the Indian team lies 18th among the Asian countries. Belgium holds on to the top spot, while Iran topped the Asian rankings at 21 followed by Japan (26), South Korea (37), Australia (41) and Qatar (55).

The World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on 7 April, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO). And the theme for 2019 is Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere.